Family traditions

[jrp]

Helping (watching mostly) my aunt, my wife, and a couple of cousins make lefse and kringle, a couple of my late Norwegian grandmother's specialties. This is the first time my wife has made these two items. She's going to teach my cousins how to make grandma's chocolate cake, which features a fairly complex cooked frosting. I'm still trying to figure out how my wife learned the cake recipe and my cousins hadn't.

These are all things that made grandma's house special to us as kids (at least she made all these things special to us). Lefse, especially, seems to be a pretty involved process. Looking back, I can't believe the volume of this stuff grandma turned out for six voracious grandsons and four granddaughters. I'm really happy my wife is willing to learn to make the Norwegian recipes and help continue my grandmother's traditions.

 

[Bobby]

Family memories often involve the cooking talents of the older crowd. They are precious. Your wife, obviously, knows the way to your heart. It is good to carry on that tradition.. Now, in the same vain of rocky's Grandma Gizzi, would share a recipe? As you know, we like to expand on everyones tradition!

 

[jrp]

I'll post them all, probably after we get home tomorrow.

 

[Bobby]

Thanks...

 

[HIFI]

My families traditional theme song.
Hank Williams Jr. - Family Tradition - YouTube

 

[jrp]

My families traditional theme song.
Hank Williams Jr. - Family Tradition - YouTube

Very nice!

 

[jrp]

A bonus: date pinwheel cookies. Diced dates cooked into a paste and then rolled inside the dough. Also very good frozen.

 

[jrp]

Kringle. A bit like sugar cookies and a bit like bread. Up next chocolate cake. My aunt and a cousin are in the first picture.

 

[HIFI]

:

 

[navychop]

Just had another batch of that sauce. It holds up well in the fridge.

 

[Bobby]

Yummy, to both JRP and Navy!

 

[jrp]

Chocolate cake is in process, but the lefse is in full swing!

 

[navychop]

Having more of Nana's tonight. Had to make more sauce; added more pepperoni while we were at it. We'll be checking out that vino veritas stuff too.

 

[jrp]

Chocolate cake.































For anyone interested, recipes will follow after we get home.

 

[Bobby]

Interested!

 

[jrp]

I think we're staying at my cousin's an extra night, but I'll post the recipes tomorrow. We had a really good time baking and talking about my grandparents (my aunt is only eight years older than I am, so we have a lot of the same memories). I'm mostly a meat cooker, but the baking/family legacy weekend has been pretty cool.

 

[jrp]

Kringle

Cooking time: 10-12 minutes (depending on your oven)
Temp: 425 degrees

1 C sour cream
1 C whipping cream

-mix and let stand

¼ C softened butter
1 1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

-beat and blend well. Add dry ingredients (below) and mix by hand.

4 ¼ C flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

-chill dough for easier handling (overnight is best). Roll small portions, about 7” long and as thick as a finger.



Lefsa

Cooking time: varies per side
Temp: 500 degrees on your griddle

2.5 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes (you can use other kinds of potatoes, this is just what we prefer)
3 tbsp. melted butter
½ C whipping cream
1 tbsp. sugar
2 C flour
Salt

-peel, cut and cook the potatoes a little past done (think mashed potatoes consistency). Mix potatoes with butter (not the melted butter as listed above) and milk like you’re making mashed potatoes. Let cool, overnight in the fridge is just fine.

-once cooled, mix with the ingredients as listed above, cool again. Roll and bake. The rolling can be tricky. You have rub flour into your rolling surface (we used a cloth stretched taut over a board) and rolling pin, roll the dough out very thin and then lift it with a flat, thin stick. Use the stick to place the lefse on the griddle, flipping at least once.. It doesn't take long on the griddle.



Date Pinwheel cookies

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Temp: 375 degrees

Filling:
1 lb. pitted dates (can be whole or diced)
½ C water
½ C sugar

-combine and cook until thick, let cool completely

Dough:
1 C granulated sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 C shortening (or butter)
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
4 C flour

-sift together flour, soda and salt, add shortening. Mix together eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy. Add flour mixture and blend well. Roll to ¼” thick and spread the filling on top of it. roll into a log and refrigerate or freeze.

 

[jrp]

Cake recipe still coming.

 

[Bobby]

Yum!

 

[jrp]

Chocolate Cake:

27 Marshmallows
3 Squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 C Water

Put in double boiler and heat until marshmallows are melted, stir and allow to cool ten to fifteen minutes.

In a bowl, mix:

4 eggs
1-1/2 C sugar
1-1/2 C sour cream
2-1/4 C flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp salt

Combine mixtures, stir (a mixer or kitchenaid is fine for this). Pour in greased and floured pan.

Preheat oven to 350°F for 30 minutes. Use the toothpick test for doneness.


Chocolate Frosting:

In a heavy saucepan, add;

2 C Sugar
1 C Heavy whipping cream
2 Squares unsweetened chocolate

Boil over high heat without stirring. Reduce heat and continue cooking until soft ball stage (drop a dollop of frosting in cup of cold water to test—my wife uses a candy thermometer that has a "soft ball" reading rather than the cold water test). Beat until thick and creamy in consistency. Put saucepan in cold water while beating. Spread on cooled cake.

A caveat. The cake and especially the frosting can be temperamental. The cake will sometimes fall and the consistency of the frosting can range from runny to hard. We think that humidity has a lot to do with it. The one thing that doesn't change is that, for chocolate lovers, this is a real treat.

I hope some of you will try this or the other recipes in this thread. My Grandma's efforts brought me much joy through the years and that several family members have continued her baking makes me very happy.